Japan is one of the most urbanised and industrialised countries in the world. Yet the Japanese continue to practise a variety of religious rituals and ceremonies that would appear
to be at variance with the high-tech and highly regimented naturer of Japanese society.
Ceremony and Ritual in Japan focuses on the traditional and religious aspects of Japanese society from ana anthropological perspective, presenting new material and making cross-cultural comparisons. The chapters in this collection cover topics as diverse as funerals and mourning, sweeping, women's roles in ritual, the division of ceremonial foods into bitter and sweet, the history of a shrine, the playing of games, the exchnage of towels and the relationshiop between ceremony and the workplace. The book provides an overview of the meaning of tradition, and looks at the way in which new ceremonies have sprung up in changing circumstances, while old ones have been preserved, or have developed new meanings. Jane Bachnik, Formerly of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Augustin Berque, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes et Sciences Sociales, Paris, Jan Van Bremen, University of Leiden, The N
Edited by:
D. P. Martinez,
Jan Van Bremen
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
Spine: 27mm
Weight: 521g
ISBN: 9780415116633
ISBN 10: 0415116635
Series: Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies
Pages: 284
Publication Date: 22 December 1994
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction, Jan van Bremen; Part 1 The question of tradition; Chapter 1 Wedding and funeral ritual, Robert J. Smith; Chapter 2 Rituality in the kengame, Sepp Linhart; Chapter 3 The parish of a famous shrine, Sylvie Guichard-Anguis; Part 2 Rituals for the dead; Chapter 4 On structural duality in Japanese conceptions of death, Halldór Stefánsson; Chapter 5 Orchestrated reciprocity, Jane M. Bachnik; Chapter 6 Memorial monuments and memorial services of Japanese companies, Hirochika Nakamaki; Part 3 The tools of ceremony; Chapter 7 A Japanese Shint? Parade, Arne Kalland; Chapter 8, D.P. Martinez; Chapter 9 Sonaemono, Jane Cobbi; Chapter 10, Joy Hendry; Chapter 11 Cleaning floors and sweeping the mind, Ian Reader; conclusion Conclusion: The rituals of urbanity, Augustin Berque;
Jan van Bremen, D.P. Martinez
Reviews for Ceremony and Ritual in Japan: Religious Practices in an Industrialized Society
... a gold mine of thoughtful insight into contemporary Japanese life ... there is solid meat here ... The collection brings together contributions from many of the leading scholars of religion and culture, Japanese, European, and American, in an unusually helpful mix ... Highly recommended for all levels. -J. H. Bailey, Earlham College
